Hamilton Monthly Report: August 2022

This report highlights and analyzes key trends and takeaways from data collected by the Hamilton 2.0 dashboard during the previous month. Unlike ASD’s weekly Hamilton reports, which analyze the main topics and themes promoted by monitored Russian and Chinese actors and entities, this report focuses on the specific Russian, Chinese, and Iranian accounts, outlets, and pieces of content that received the most engagement during the studied period. The report analyzes data collected on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and state-sponsored websites. A complete list of monitored accounts and outlets and the methodology behind the dashboard can be found on ASD’s methodology and FAQs page. 

Russia

Twitter Metrics

This section analyzes the top accounts affiliated with and outputs from Russian state media and diplomatic/government Twitter accounts in August 2022. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API. Engagement metrics are determined using Twitter’s public API and are up to date as of early September 2022.

In total, monitored Russian accounts tweeted 73,233 times in August. Those posts were retweeted and liked, respectively, 759,827 and 2,327,385 times. Compared to July, Kremlin-affiliated accounts posted 3,339 more tweets but earned 28,159 fewer retweets and 57,026 fewer likes.

Most Retweeted Accounts

The following charts display the most retweeted Russian state media and Russian diplomatic/government accounts during the past month. Favorites and total tweets are also displayed.

Some of Russia’s most popular Spanish-language media accounts saw their engagement metrics fall in August. RT en Español remained the most influential state media account but earned 11 percent less retweets and 12 percent less likes than the previous month. Since May, when ASD began tracking monthly outputs, RT en Español’s retweets and likes are both down 32 percent. RT en Español correspondent Helena Villar also saw her numbers drop. In August, Villar’s account generated 35 percent less retweets and likes compared to the previous month. The RT en Español program Ahi les Va, though, largely held steady, bringing in 3 percent more retweets than in July. But Ahi les Va nearly doubled the number of tweets that it sent to earn those retweets.   

Russian-language media outlets also struggled. RIA Novosti’s retweets dropped by 58 percent, and its likes fell by 47 percent when comparing August to July, continuing a months-long decline. From May to August, RIA Novosti’s retweets were down 81 percent, and likes were down 80 percent. Its number of tweets has ranged between 6,100 and 5,000 each month. Similarly, Tass lost 24 percent of it retweets and 14 percent of its likes when comparing August to July. Since May, its number of retweets has fallen 42 percent, and likes are down 36 percent.

However, some English-language media accounts gained ground in August. RT rebounded after several months of decline. Its retweets increased by 28 percent in August compared to July. Its likes rose by 16 percent during that same time. Sputnik correspondent Wyatt Reed also made large percentage gains in August; although, that’s due to his account performing poorly in July.

On the diplomatic side, the Japanese Embassy’s account fell from the top spot on the most influential list for the first time since ASD began tracking monthly statistics. The account’s retweets were down 36 percent in August compared to the previous month. Since May, the Japanese Embassy’s retweets have fallen 70 percent, slipping from 84,200 in May to only 25,300 in August. Both the English-language and Spanish-language accounts for Russia’s Foreign Ministry have also lost a substantial amount of engagement month after month. On the other hand, the UK Embassy has maintained a similar engagement rate since May, and in August, it became the most influential diplomatic account.   

Most Followers Gained

The following charts display the state media and diplomatic/government accounts with the largest change in followers from August 1 to August 30, 2022. (Hamilton follower numbers are updated every three days and thus do not necessarily correspond with the end of the month.)

Ahi les Va’s relatively new account continued to grow faster than any other state media account in August, despite being labeled by Twitter as state media in late July. Ahi les Va’s follower count actually grew more in the month after it was labeled than the month before it was labeled. RT’s account added around 2,000 followers in August, reversing a monthslong trend of the account losing followers. Six of the ten fastest growing state media accounts in August belonged to individual journalists or editors.

The pace of growth for top diplomatic accounts slowed substantially when comparing August to the previous month. In July, the ten fastest growing diplomatic accounts added a cumulative 13,232 followers. In August, that number dropped to 8,160—a 38 percent decrease. Some diplomatic accounts, though, did make gains. Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov, who is one of Russia’s most aggressive messengers, added more than 1,500 followers last month. The UK Embassy also gained around 1,500 new followers.

Most Mentioned Countries

The following chart displays the countries most mentioned in Tweets during the past month. Special territories and regions (for example, Hong Kong and the EU) are included as individual entities in the country data. The chart aggregates all mentions of a country, including alternative country names, under that country’s official name (for example, mentions of US, USA, U.S., and America are all included in tabulations for the United States of America). 

As usual, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States were the three most mentioned countries by both state media and diplomatic accounts. On the state media side, China and Taiwan were the fourth and fifth most mentioned states. This reflects state media’s high-volume propaganda push condemning US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in early August. During the 48 hours after Pelosi touched down in Taipei, Taiwan was the second most mentioned country by Russian accounts, knocking Ukraine down to fifth during that timeframe. Oddly, Taiwan wasn’t among the ten most mentioned countries by Russian diplomats, though China was the fourth most referenced. 

Most Retweeted Accounts

The following charts display the accounts that have been retweeted most often by accounts monitored on the dashboard during the past month. The first chart displays the monitored accounts most retweeted by other monitored accounts (for example, a diplomatic account retweeted by other diplomatic and state media accounts). The second chart displays the non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored accounts (for example, an independent media outlet or unaffiliated individual retweeted by diplomatic and state media accounts). Occasionally, accounts that should be monitored on the dashboard appear in the non-monitored retweet list, either because those accounts are new or because they were not previously identified. Those accounts are subsequently added to the relevant Hamilton account list.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs remained the most retweeted account by Russian diplomats and state media in August, but those Kremlin-linked accounts amplified the Foreign Ministry far less than they did during the previous month. In July, the Foreign Ministry was retweeted 1,802 times. In August, that number was only 1,024. Moscow-affiliated accounts also circulated less content from big state media accounts like RT, RIA Novosti, and RT Ultima Hora. However, diplomats and state media retweeted the account for Russia’s Mission to the United Nations more in August than July. This reflects the UN’s involvement in monitoring the condition of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which was a focal point of recent fighting and propaganda.

Russian officials and state-directed media continued to promote many of the fringe, anti-Western accounts that they’ve retweeted in the past. However, Jackson Hinkle’s account made its first appearance on the list in August, becoming the fifth most retweeted account by Russian propagandists. Hinkle pushes pro-Putin commentary and attacks on the Democratic Party through his Twitter account, his YouTube channel, and his appearances on right-wing cable news shows, including Tucker Carlson Tonight. Several Russian state-media journalists and one diplomat amplified Hinkle’s tweets throughout August. An account called “Bro Fii” also made its first appearance on the list. Bro Fii’s account, which regularly engages with Russian state media personalities, has only 394 followers. Bro Fii’s position on this list highlights how low the barrier of entry is to be promoted by Russia’s propaganda apparatus.  

Most Retweeted Tweets

The following charts display the Tweets made by monitored accounts that have received the most retweets during the previous month. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API. 

RT produced all five of the most retweeted posts by Russian state media accounts in August. Those tweets were all about developments in Pakistan or India and were posted within a four-day span. RT has had success with Pakistan-related content in the past. This year, RT has eight of the ten most retweeted posts about Pakistan by Kremlin-linked media accounts. RT’s popularity in August meant that there were no Spanish-language tweets among the five most retweeted posts by Russia state media accounts. In July, all five top posts were in Spanish. 

The top two posts from Russian diplomats in August attacked the United Kingdom’s recent foreign interventions and its history of colonialism. Two of the other top five posts attempted to equate the current Ukrainian government to Adolf Hitler’s regime in Nazi Germany. Finally, top posts included a simple congratulatory note from President Vladimir Putin to the newly elected president of Kenya, William Ruto.  

Facebook Metrics

This section provides a summary analysis of Russian state media and diplomatic/government Pages on Facebook during the previous month. Data is sourced from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data analysis tool that provides insights into public content posted to Facebook. (NOTE: CrowdTangle data will be incorporated into the public dashboard in late 2022.)   

Most Interactions

The following chart displays the Russian state media and diplomatic/government Pages on Facebook with the most interactions (reactions, comments, and shares) during the previous month. Though sorted by interactions, the chart also displays the average number of posts per day, page followers, and interaction rates (a calculation of total interactions divided by the number of posts and the number of followers of a Page), all of which are important metrics to contextualize the results.

RT Arabic continued to generate more interactions than any other state media page of Facebook, though its numbers dropped slightly from the previous month. RT’s total interactions also fell from more than 1 million in July to around 842,000 in August. And after an unusually successful July, RT Online’s page lost a significant number of interactions. In July, the page had more than 458,000 interactions, and in August, it had only 275,000.

On the other hand, Sputnik Mundo brought in more than 90,000 more interactions in August than in July. Ahi les Va, which is affiliated with RT en Español, also made big gains. It had 85,000 more interactions in August than the previous month. Interestingly, Ahi les Va’s success is built on around one post per day. That’s well below the average for state media pages, which is 17.14 posts a day.

In August, Facebook’s CrowdTangle began showing statistics for RT en Español after months of not doing so. The analytical tool shows RT en Español losing a significant number of interactions. The page only had 265,728 interactions in August, which is down from more than 1 million in May—it is unclear if this drop is legitimate or a result of CrowdTangle’s challenges collecting data on the page.

The average total interactions with Russian diplomatic pages on Facebook fell by 27 percent from July to August. The average number interactions with diplomatic pages in August was the lowest since ASD began monitoring monthly engagements in May. Russia’s Foreign Ministry dropped from 157,420 interactions in July to 104,044 interactions in August. Across the same timeframe, the Embassy in Bangladesh dropped from more than 61,000 to around 46,961 interactions. Other leading accounts also lost interactions.  

Pages with the Largest Percentage Growth in Followers

The following chart displays the Russian state media and diplomatic/government Pages with the largest percentage growth in followers during the previous month.

Ahi les Va continued to grow faster than any other state media page, bringing in around 13,000 new followers in August. That’s less than the nearly 18,000 followers added by the page in July, but still far more than any other monitored page. For the first time since May, RT Arabic’s page added followers, tacking on more than 5,500 followers throughout August. RT’s page also reversed a months-long trend of losing followers, and in August the page added nearly 1,500 followers. Overall, though, 51 of 63 monitored pages lost followers in August.  

The growth of Russian diplomatic Facebook pages was slower in August than the previous month. These pages grew by 1.16 percent in July but only 0.7 percent in August. The Embassy in Bangladesh continued to be the fastest growing diplomatic page, but in August it added around 10,000 fewer followers than it did in July.

Most Commented Posts (By Total Interactions)

The following posts received the most comments on Russian state media and Russian diplomatic/government Facebook Pages during August. Posts are segmented by all Russian state media pages, Russian state media Pages specifically targeting audiences in the United States, and Russian diplomatic/government Pages.

Ahi les Va produced both top posts by Russian state media pages in August. However, neither post was as widely seen or interacted with as the top posts from the previous month. Ahi les Va’s most popular post in August had 141,700 post views, which is far fewer than the 462,000 post views captured by the most popular post in July.

The only US-focused state media page put up a single post in August, which only generated 26 interactions.

Russia’s Embassy in Bangladesh sent the two most popular diplomatic Facebook posts. The first featured a cartoon showing the United States and NATO using Ukraine to steady their gun’s sights on a Russian bear. The second featured an animated video, which showed a figure resembling US President Joe Biden dropping a small skull into a roulette wheel. As the skull rounded the wheel, images of the Vietnam War, Hiroshima bombing, and the Holocaust flashed on the screen. The skull eventually lands in a slot labeled “Ukraine,” and the animated Biden puts on a puppet resembling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who goes on to launch a war against the Donbass, causing blood to flow across Europe. The blood eventually turn into gold bars, which are collected and stacked by Americans.   

China

Twitter Metrics

This section analyzes the top accounts affiliated with and outputs from Chinese state media and diplomatic/government Twitter accounts in August 2022. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API. Engagement metrics are determined using Twitter’s public API and are up to date as of early September 2022.

In total, monitored Chinese accounts tweeted 95,903 times in August. Those Tweets were retweeted and liked, respectively, 855,087 and 3,468,999 times during the month. While the number of tweets only increased by around 7 percent compared to July, August’s tweets drew almost 40 percent more likes and retweets than those from the previous month. This significant increase in engagement was mostly attributable to the coordinated response from the entire network of Chinese accounts monitored on Hamilton 2.0 that accompanied US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in early August.

Most Retweeted Accounts

The following charts display the most retweeted Chinese state media and Chinese diplomatic/government accounts during the past month. Favorites and total tweets are also displayed.

While the most influential Chinese diplomatic and state media Twitter accounts remained largely consistent between July and August, they generated significantly more engagement in August. On the state media side, the ultra-nationalist tabloid Global Times was the most retweeted account in August, posting around 10 percent more tweets and generating more than double the engagements it received in July. Similar trends were noted for several other state media outlets like CGTN and People’s Daily, which received proportionately more engagement on a per tweet basis in August than in July. The spat over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was a likely driver of that engagement. Former Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin, for example, was very active in attacking the Democratic lawmaker over her visit to the island. He posted 36 tweets in July and 38 in August. Yet, despite this relative consistency in the amount of content produced, Hu generated 8,731 retweets and 46,600 likes in August, compared to only 5,678 retweets and 26,200 likes in July.

On the diplomatic side, nine of the top ten accounts remained consistent between July and August (Ma Hui, China’s Ambassador to Cuba, replaced St. Petersburg, Russia-based diplomat Yan Yiaqing in the top ten). As was the case with state media, retweets were up among the top ten accounts, as some diplomats also benefitted from significant increases in engagement around Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Deputy Foreign Minister Hua Chunying nearly tripled her retweets and likes despite only a nominal increase in the amount of content she tweeted in August as compared to July. Similarly, the official account of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) managed to increase engagement by more than 40 percent while tweeting 25 percent less in August than it did in July.

Most Followers Gained

The following charts display the state media and diplomatic/government accounts with the largest change in followers from August 1 to August 30, 2022. (Hamilton follower numbers are updated every three days and thus do not necessarily correspond with the end of the month.)

Chinese state media gained significantly more followers in August compared to July, with the top account—@huxijin_gt—gaining more followers in August than the top ten accounts combined gained in July. Hua’s appearance at the top of the leaderboard in both July and August demonstrates the effectiveness of more combative individuals in spreading and amplifying pro-CCP narratives. But official handles of state media entities also saw notable gains, with the People’s Daily Mandarin Twitter account, along with its affiliates China Science and Beautiful China, as well as the Global Times, all gaining more than 13,000 new followers.  

On the diplomatic side, the accounts that gained the most followers in August were remarkably similar to those that gained the most followers in July, though the number of followers gained was considerably higher in Augusts. The ten fastest growing Chinese diplomatic accounts by numeric change grew in August at double or triple the rate they had grown in July, which was itself a month of relatively high growth compared to June.

Most Mentioned Countries

The following chart displays the countries most mentioned in Tweets during the past month. Special territories and regions (for example, Hong Kong and the EU) are included as individual entities in the country data. The chart aggregates all mentions of a country, including alternative country names, under that country’s official name (for example, mentions of US, USA, U.S., and America are all included in tabulations for the United States of America).

The most salient trend in August was the focus of Chinese diplomats and state media on Taiwan. On the diplomatic side, the island was mentioned almost as frequently as the United States, which itself was mentioned far more frequently by Chinese diplomats in August than it was in July. Similarly, state media mentions in August of Taiwan more than tripled, while mentions of the United States almost doubled compared to July.

Another notable data point for August was state media’s renewed interest in Russia and Ukraine, with mentions for the two countries increasing by more than 400 and 750 percent, respectively, compared to July. This can be explained by a spike in interest surrounding a possible incident at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, by the death of former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, and by continued coverage of grain exports out of Ukraine. Russia, however, was only the seventh most mentioned country by diplomats, and Ukraine was not among the top ten, suggesting the war continues to be a sensitive topic for Chinese officials.

Finally, as has been the case for the past several months, Pakistan and Afghanistan remained among the ten countries most mentioned by Chinese diplomats, highlighting the importance of those countries, and the broader region, for Chinese interests. In addition, the floods in Pakistan and the drone strike resulting in the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri contributed to an increase in interest in the two countries from state media.

Most Retweeted Accounts

The following charts display the accounts that have been retweeted most often by accounts monitored on the dashboard during the past month. The first chart displays the monitored accounts most retweeted by other monitored accounts (for example, a diplomatic account retweeted by other diplomatic and state media accounts). The second chart displays the non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored accounts (for example, an independent media outlet or unaffiliated individual retweeted by diplomatic and state media accounts). Occasionally, accounts that should be monitored by the dashboard appear in the non-monitored retweet list, either because those accounts are new or were not previously identified. Those accounts are subsequently added to the relevant Hamilton account list.

he Chinese diplomats and state media entities most retweeted by monitored Chinese accounts was largely consistent with the most retweeted Chinese accounts overall. The consul general in Belfast remained the most retweeted account, most likely owing to the extraordinarily high amount of content she puts out and her tendency to retweet her own posts. This behavior likely accounts for the appearance of several other diplomats among the ten most retweeted accounts, including the consul general in Pakistan (libijian), China’s cultural counselor in Pakistan (Zhang Heqing), and a diplomat formerly based in Lebanon (Cao Yi), all of whom rank among the most prolific tweeters (and self retweeters) among monitored accounts.

The non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored Chinese diplomats and state media accounts in August was largely consistent with findings from July. New Zealander Andy Boreham and Frenchman Arnaud Bertrand continued to stand out as pro-CCP Western validators whose voices are consistently amplified by state media and Chinese officials. In August, Boreham was the most retweeted foreigner among the Chinese network, owing perhaps to his hawkish views on Taiwan.

Most Retweeted Tweets

The following charts display the Tweets made by monitored accounts that have received the most retweets during the previous month. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API.

Four of the top five tweets from Chinese state media in August illustrate the prominence of Taiwan-related content in Chinese messaging. The fact that Hu Xijin, the hawkish former editor-in-chief of the nationalist Global Times, authored three of those tweets highlights the extent to which Chinese messaging relies on its most vitriolic messengers to generate engagement.

In contrast to the top five state media tweets that were mostly focused on Taiwan, the diplomatic tweets that generated the most engagement in August were broader attacks on the West in general, and the United States in particular. The most retweeted tweet for the entire month was an exceptionally provocative tweet by MFA spokesperson Zhao Lijian, who shared a meme implying that the US government orchestrated the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Chinese diplomats’ tweets generated far higher engagement numbers than their state media counterparts, with all ten of the most engaged with tweets out of the entire Chinese network of accounts monitored on Hamilton 2.0 in August authored by diplomats.

Facebook Metrics

This section provides a summary analysis of Chinese state media and diplomatic/government Pages on Facebook during the previous month. Data is sourced from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data analysis tool that provides insights into public content posted to Facebook. (NOTE: CrowdTangle data will be incorporated into the public dashboard in late 2022.)

Most Interactions

The following chart displays the Chinese state media and diplomatic/government Pages on Facebook with the most interactions (reactions, comments, and shares) during the previous month. Though sorted by interactions, the chart also displays the average number of posts per day, page followers, and interaction rates (a calculation of total interactions divided by the number of posts and the number of followers of a Page), all of which are important metrics to contextualize the results.

Average total interactions with Chinese state media pages on Facebook was up less than 10 percent in August after a more than 25 percent fall between June and July. Interactions with CGTN’s page continued trending downward, dropping a further 10 percent between July and August, after a more than 20 percent decline between June and July. Conversely, China Daily and People’s Daily both registered significant increases in total interactions in August. CGTN Arabic saw an almost 30 percent drop in interactions, while CGTN Français generated around 20 percent more total interactions in August than it had in July.

Chinese diplomatic pages generated far more interactions in August than July, with a 30 percent month over month increase. The comparatively soft-spoken MFA spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s page remained the most interacted-with Chinese diplomatic page on Facebook, with an almost 30 percent increase in total interactions between July and August. The Chinese Embassy in Sudan also stood out, almost doubling the number of interactions it generated between July and August.   

Pages with the Largest Percentage Growth in Followers

The following chart displays the Chinese state media and diplomatic/government Pages with the largest percentage growth in followers during the previous month.

As was the case in July, CGTN Frontline, one of Chinese state media’s more tabloid-esque outlets, continued to grow at a high rate in August, gaining the most followers in numeric terms. Chinese state media pundits Guan Xin and Wang Guan’s public pages also saw notable growth in August, highlighting the importance of media personalities in attracting audiences on the platform.

In August, for the third month in a row, the Chinese Embassy in Sudan was one of the fastest growing Chinese diplomatic pages on Facebook. MFA spokesperson Wang Wenbin also gained many followers in August, perhaps helped by the interest around Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. Finally, the Chinese Consulate in Erbil remained the fastest growing diplomatic page in numeric terms and now has roughly one-third of Erbil’s population following its page.

Most Commented Posts (By Total Interactions)

The following posts received the most comments on public Chinese state media and Chinese diplomatic/government Facebook Pages during the previous month. Posts are segmented by all Chinese state media pages, Chinese state media Pages specifically targeting audiences in the United States (for example, CGTN America), and Chinese diplomatic/government Pages.

As was the case in previous months, the two most popular posts by Chinese state media in August were clickbait-style videos that had the potential to go viral and capture audience share. Both posts came from China Daily, which, perhaps not coincidentally, had more than two times the number of interactions in August compared to July.

Chinese state media US-focused pages had a more geopolitical slant to them compared to the innocuous posts from China Daily that received the most interactions overall. The theme of both posts mirrors popular state media content posted to YouTube in August.

The top diplomatic posts in August were also attempts at soft power, with the Chinese Embassy in Romania promoting the performance of a traditional local melody by a Chinese musician and the Chinese Embassy in Sudan highlighting the natural beauty of the Nile River. Both posts show a more benign side to Chinese diplomacy, based on culture and mutual admiration rather than on zero-sum confrontation that is often on display on Twitter.

YouTube Metrics

This section summarizes the outputs of video content uploaded to CGTN and CGTN America’s YouTube channels. YouTube videos over 20 minutes in length were not included. In total, the dashboard collected 724 videos that garnered 4,974,522 views, 56,844 comments, and 171,374 likes (engagement metrics accurate as of early September).

Most Viewed Videos

The following chart displays the most viewed videos posted to CGTN and CGTN America’s YouTube channels over the previous month. Additional engagement metrics including likes, dislikes, and comments are also provided. Engagement metrics are accurate as of early September. 

Title	Outlet	Date	Views	Likes	Dislikes	Comments
Palestinian clashes with Israeli army at town near West Bank’s Nablus	CGTN	8/30	458,087	1,060		1,169
Wang Yi says those who offend China will be punished	CGTN	8/3	145,569	3,788		3,049
PLA flies more than 100 warplanes around Taiwan island	CGTN	8/4	130,064	2,778		1,151
Preaching, but not practicing	CGTN	8/8	96,144	4,561		829
Customized Chinese high-speed trains ready for delivery to Indonesia	CGTN	8/6	86,508	2,403		739
Taiwan region key to U.S. geopolitical goal to contain Indo-Pacific	CGTN	8/6	77,978	3,172		918
Tensions over Taiwan Island: A View from Taipei	CGTN	8/8	72,572	2,217		725
PLA Eastern Theater Command holds military drills around island of Taiwan	CGTN	8/8	67,546	1,578		491
Nightmare of American founding fathers	CGTN	8/10	66,312	1880		445
South African FM: ‘Patronizing bullying’ not acceptable	CGTN	8/11	66,148	3,687		843

As was the case on Twitter, much of China’s most viewed YouTube content in August related to Beijing’s angry reaction to Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. Seven of the top ten videos were in some way related to Taiwan.

The most viewed and tenth most viewed videos in August highlighted another dimension of Chinese messaging: its efforts to appeal to the Global South. The most viewed video of the month featured Israeli armed forces aggressively confronting Palestinian men suspected of having participated in a shooting. The tenth most-viewed video featured a snippet of a speech from the South African foreign minister explaining to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that her country should be treated with respect, which the Chinese video implies is not the case.

Most Mentioned Countries

The following chart displays the countries most mentioned in CGTN and CGTN America videos during the past month. Country data is extracted from titles and excerpts posted to each video on YouTube, meaning that countries that are referenced in a video segment but that do not appear in the description or title will not be included.

Special territories and regions (for example, Hong Kong and the EU) are included as individual entities in the country data. The chart aggregates all mentions of a country, including alternative country names, under that country’s official name (for example, mentions of US, USA, U.S., and America are all included in tabulations for the United States of America).

Consistent again with what was observed on Twitter, Taiwan was the third most mentioned country in CGTN and CGTN America YouTube videos in August. However, CGTN mentioned the island far more frequently than its North America arm.

Afghanistan jumped to fourth most mentioned country, with several segments focusing on the one-year anniversary of the US withdrawal from the country. The coverage was generally very negative, with most video segments about Afghanistan criticizing all aspects of the US intervention.

Similar to the previous month, Ukraine and Russia remained a focal point of CGTN and CGTN America’s coverage. Chinese state media consistently portrayed Russia in a positive light, highlighting its resilience in the face of allegedly unbridled Western/NATO/US aggression.

Top Categories

The following chart displays the news categories covered most often in CGTN and CGTN America YouTube videos during the previous month. Classification of videos is determined by a machine learning algorithm based on a list of pre-determined news categories. Videos can have multiple classifications or no classifications if the confidence score is below a certain threshold.

Consistent with findings in July, CGTN and CGTN America’s YouTube channels remained predominantly focused on geopolitical issues. Content related to military/war doubled between July and August, highlighting the militaristic rhetoric underpinning China’s response to Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. CGTN America zeroed in on climate change-related content, with a slew of segments stressing various climate-related issues affecting Europe and the United States.

Iran

Twitter Metrics

This section analyzes the top accounts affiliated with and outputs from Iranian state media and diplomatic/government Twitter accounts in August 2022. Non-English tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API. Engagement metrics are determined using Twitter’s public API and are up to date as of early September 2022.

In total, monitored Iranian accounts tweeted 19,318 times in August. Those tweets were retweeted and liked, respectively, 86,374 and 421,730 times during the month.

Most Retweeted Accounts

The following charts display the most retweeted Iranian state media and Iranian diplomatic/government accounts during the past month. Favorites and total tweets are also displayed.

The volume of tweets from monitored Iranian accounts declined slightly from July, as did engagement. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s accounts remained the most engaged-with, despite its volume and engagement declining by roughly half. Other than a couple of tweets praising Palestinian Islamic Jihad and condemning Israel, none of his most engaged with tweets related to international affairs.

The Iranian state-backed media side reflects the continued ascendency of a handful of Press TV personalities’ accounts, including the British commentators on Palestine Declassified, Chris Williamson and David Miller, as well as Press TV reporter Marwa Osman. The most engaged with media tweet from August was from Osman, in which she gave her condolences to Putin ally Alexander Dugin on the death of his daughter Darya Dugina. Another tweet from Osman accused the United States of stoking conflict between Kosovo and Serbia.

Most Followers Gained

The following charts display the state media and diplomatic/government accounts with the largest change in followers from August 1 to August 31, 2022.

The supreme leader and Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian both saw modest growth to their followerships, and lead nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani continued to see substantial growth since returning to Twitter in May.

The followership of media accounts remained stable, with the growing influence of Press TV hosts and their programs, especially Palestine Declassified, reflected in the data. Osman’s growth was particularly notable, with a net of 649 new followers in August, compared with a net growth of only 55 new followers in July.

Most Mentioned Countries

The following chart displays the countries most mentioned in tweets during the past month. Special territories and regions (for example, Hong Kong and the EU) are included as individual entities in the country data. The chart aggregates all mentions of a country, including alternative country names, under that country’s official name (for example, mentions of US, USA, U.S., and America are all included in tabulations for the United States of America). 

The top countries mentioned by Iranian state-affiliated media and diplomatic accounts remained mostly stable from the previous month, reflecting the usual coverage of Israel/Palestine and the war in Ukraine, though coverage of Ukraine and Russia was down slightly. Political turmoil kept neighboring Iraq on the list for a second month.

Most Retweeted Accounts

The following charts display the accounts that have been retweeted most often by accounts monitored on the dashboard during the past month. The first chart displays the monitored accounts most retweeted by other monitored accounts (for example, a diplomatic account retweeted by other diplomatic and state media accounts). The second chart displays the non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored accounts (for example, an independent media outlet or unaffiliated individual retweeted by diplomatic and state media accounts). Occasionally, accounts that should be monitored on the dashboard appear in the non-monitored retweet list, either because those accounts are new or were not previously identified. Those accounts are subsequently added to the relevant Hamilton account list.

The regime-linked accounts most retweeted by other monitored accounts included the foreign ministry, the foreign minister, the supreme leader, and the official government account, but in August the list also included Press TV, Palestine Declassified, and IRNA News Agency, suggesting that media accounts saw greater retweets relative to government accounts than in previous months. This fits with the overall trend for August, which saw government accounts decline in activity more than media accounts.

The non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored Iran-linked accounts included new MFA spokesman Nasser Kanaani (who was subsequently added to the list of monitored accounts), as well as several accounts that promote Iran’s cultural exports, including media and tourism.

Most Retweeted Tweets

The following charts display the Tweets made by monitored accounts that have received the most retweets during the previous month. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API.

The top tweets from Iranian state media linked accounts expressed condolences for the killing of Darya Dugina and criticized US involvement in Kosovo. Press TV’s account also found traction with a snarky tweet highlighting the killing of an Al Jazeera journalist by the Israeli military, which was posted in response to a tweet from the official state of Israel account that mocked a Press TV job opening by highlighting Iran’s history of jailing journalists and attacking the free press. A tweet from Palestine Declassified host Chris Williamson called for nationalization of formerly public utilities in the United Kingdom—a tweet that may reflect the author’s personal views more than his employer’s.

Four of the five most retweeted tweets from government and diplomatic accounts came from the supreme leader himself. The fifth, from the Iranian Embassy in Caracas, sought to downplay rumors that Iran had bought large tracts of land in Venezuela. Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year cooperation agreement earlier this summer.

Facebook Metrics

Due to restrictions on Iranian state media and diplomatic Pages on Facebook, the few Iranian properties that exist on the platform receive negligible interactions. As a result, we did not conduct analysis of Iran’s Facebook performance. 

YouTube Metrics

The Hamilton Dashboard currently does not track any Iranian state media outlets on YouTube.

The views expressed in GMF publications and commentary are the views of the author alone.